Whitley Heights 101

6657 Emmet Terrace

6657 Emmet Terrace was built in 1926 by architect E.G. Lindsay with 2,072 square feet and three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The Mediterranean house sits on an upslope on Emmet Terrace with a Mission tile roof and arched windows. The kitchen was remodeled in 1969 and the chimney repaired in 1979 to meet new building codes.

Between 1932 and 1933, actor Ralph Bellamy and his second wife, Catherine, rented the home. Bellamy was born in 1904 and was credited for over 100 film and television roles until 1990. His first film was in 1931 and Bellamy acted up until his death in 1991. Bellamy starred in several films as the detective Ellery Queen and was cast as Franklin D. Roosevelt three times in his career. Bellamy won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Sunrise at Campobello in which he played FDR as well as an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Awful Truth (1937) starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. In 1984, Ralph Bellamy was awarded the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild and in 1987, an Honorary Academy Award.

Other notable roles included: Dr. Sapirstein in Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Sam Raven in Oh, God! (1977) starring George Burns, Randolph Duke in Trading Places in 1983 and reprised the role of Randolph Duke in Coming to America in 1988. Like many others of his time, Bellamy guest starred in various television shows including; Dr. Kildare, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, The Bob Newhart Show, Fantasy Island, Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat, The Twilight Zone, Hotel, Matlock, and L.A. Law. Bellamy’s last role was James Morse in Pretty Woman in 1990 starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Bellamy played the “fiery old man” trying to keep his company being stolen from Richard Gere.

During the 1930s and 1940s Bellamy was part of a group of Hollywood A-Listers mostly from Irish Decent known as the “Irish Mafia”. Interestingly Bellamy’s family was not of Irish decent. The group consisted of: James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, Spencer Tracy, Frank Morgan, and Frank McHugh. Originally, the group came together to raise money for a church in Hartford. Afterward, they would often meet regularly at restaurants and clubs to talk and support each other.

Interestingly, Bellamy married four times. First to Alice Delbridge between 1927 and 1930. Delbridge was a stage actress and they met when she was part of the Ralph Bellamy Company and literally had a “whirlwind romance”. They ran around Iowa trying to obtain a marriage license (in a few towns unsuccessfully) and causing their show to be shut down for a few days. Less than a year after they were married, they gave birth to a girl in May of 1929. As Delbridge “retired” from acting to take care of the baby, Bellamy was traveling all over to perform on the stage.

In June of 1930, it was announced he was co-starring in the play, “Other Men’s Wives” with actress Catherine Willard. Ironically, she was going to be the next Ralph Bellamy. Bellamy and Willard went on to co-star in the play “Suppressed Desires”. The irony of the titles of the plays! By the end of 1930, Bellamy’s acting career exploded as he signed a contract with United Artists and moved to Hollywood. However, MGM borrowed him for a role in The Secret Six starring Wallace Beery. With the move to Hollywood, Bellamy quickly forgot about his wife and daughter. Delbridge got tired of her husband’s absence and filed for divorce in February of 1931 citing cruelty and non-support and went through a very public divorce.

In July of 1931, Bellamy and Willard eloped in Las Vegas Bellamy’s divorce was finalized the month before and Willard’s divorce had recently been finalized from actor William E. Barry. The Bellamy’s moved to 6667 Emmet Terrace prior to April of 1932. Willard continued to get Broadway jobs in New York, but she did not like leaving Bellamy alone for long. (Perhaps she suspected he would hook up with another leading lady).

Bellamy continued to be an absent parent to his daughter and The New Movie Magazine was not letting him off the hook. In 1934, they wrote a hit piece how he has not relationship with his daughter and that she does not even know that her father is a famous actor. However, they did mention that Bellamy would send her letters at times.

In December of 1940, the Bellamy’s adopted a son named Willard Allen Bellamy and then separated in October of 1943 after the 12 year marriage. In July 1945, Willard established residency in Reno so she could file for a divorce. The divorce was finalized in August of 1945 and Willard claimed “mental cruelty”. A few days later, the Daily News announced that Bellamy was dating organist Ethel Smith and to “watch for the marriage”. They were married the next month.

Smith was born Ethel Goldsmith in 1902 and became a famed organist known for her Latin style of music. Smith appeared in several films including; Bathing Beauty (1944), Cuban Pete (1946), Easy to Wed (1946), and several others during that time period. In these appearances, she was known for her colorful, elaborate costumes, especially her hats. She is best known for her rendition of “Tico Taco” which was featured in the movie, Bathing Beauties, starring Red Skelton and Esther Williams. She married Bellamy in the peak of her career.

The third Bellamy marriage only lasted two years and once again, Bellamy was in the middle of a very public divorce. There was a rumor that he was going to remarry Willard so Smith filed for a separation in May of 1947. During the hearing, Smith stated that Bellamy moved out of their New York apartment and into the Hotel Roosevelt. He than begged her for a reconciliation so she took him back. He then “bragged” to her that he spent the weekend with his hairdresser and left again. Smith charged Bellamy with “cruel and inhuman treatment, desertion and nonsupport”. Smith sued Bellamy for $100,000. Bellamy indicated that Smith would lock the door every evening at 11:45 p.m. and if he was not home on time, he was locked out of the apartment. He further cited that he would have to beg her to let him in while she yelled obscenities at him through the door. The divorce was finalized in November of 1947 when Smith did not show up to the last hearing.

Bellamy married his fourth and final time on November 27, 1949 to Alice Murphy in New York City. Apparently, the forth time was a charm as they remained married until his death in 1991.

In 1938 composer and orchestrator Leo Shuken and his wife, Ann, rented 6657 Emmet Terrace. Shuken was born in 1906 and was credited in over 400 films and television shows beginning in 1936 and was best known for his music in westerns. Shuken was a co-recipient of an Academy Award for Best Score in 1940 for the film Stagecoach. He was a nominee in 1965 for Best Music in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Shuken was either the music arranger or the orchestrator in the following films: From Whom The Bell Tolls (1943), The Great Gatsby (1949), Father of the Bridge (1950), Sunset Boulevard (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), Roman Holiday (1953), Rear Window (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), The Ten Commandments (1956), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Pink Panther (1963), Hawaii (1966), Funny Girl (1968), and Airport (1970). Shuken died on July 24, 1976 at the age of 69.

From 1942 until 1952, radio personality J. Donald Wilson and his wife, Loraine, resided at 6657 Emmet Terrace. Wilson was born in 1904 in Kansas City and was a radio and film writer, producer, and voice actor. Between 1944 and 1945, Wilson created the mystery series “The Adventures of Bill Lance” that aired on the CBS Radio Network. In 1947 the series was revived, with a different cast, on the ABC Radio Network. Perhaps he is best known for his writing on The Whistler. The Whistler began as a radio mystery drama which debuted on May 16th 1942 and ran until September 22nd 1955 on CBS completing 692 episodes. He then was part of 8 “Whistler” films in the late 1940s. He also wrote, produced and directed The Adventures of Nero Wolfe and Dark Ventures. Wilson was also the voice of Mickey Mouse in select 1938 broadcasts of The Mickey Mouse Theater of the air as well as other characters in Disney productions. He was also the announcer on “Strange As It Seems” and “Charlie Chan”. In March of 1945, Wilson became production head of ABC and later was promoted to vice president.

In 1925, Wilson married stage actress Lorraine Lavalle when he was 21 and she was 19. The two met went they were acting in a stage play. When they moved to Hollywood, Wilson’s career excelled on radio while Lavalle’s diminished. In 1939, she sued Wilson for divorced citing extreme cruelty, drinking often, calling her names and striking her several times. The divorce never happened. Then again, she sued him again for divorce in 1948 over numerous affairs, including on with his personal secretary, Tania Karl. Lavalle stated that Wilson had several affairs during their 14 years of marriage. Again, the divorce never happened. Lavalle was having health issues and died in 1952 while they were still residing in Whitley Heights.

Less than a year later, Wilson married actress Christine McIntyre. The two met on the set of the television show, “Mark Saber” in 1952. Wilson was the producer and McIntyre had a minor role on one of the episodes. McIntyre was best known for her roles in the Three Stooges short films. After the two fell in love and married, both retired from the entertainment industry and got into real estate, spending the next 30 years working together. Wilson died in January 1984, and Christine McIntyre followed him only six months later, dying of cancer on July 8, 1984, in Van Nuys, California. They are buried together at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.